Harry Potter and the Magic Jigsaw Puzzle
by feltongurl
Summary: This story is by my friend. Set after Order of the Phoenix. Lucius Malfoy has escaped from Azkaban and has done a lot more since then. Ron gets a magic puzzle. Some very mild slash. Nothing disturbing at all. Promise. Please review. COMPLETE!
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1  
  
Lucius entered his study. He walked swiftly to the fireplace. He took a pinch of black glittering powder and threw it into the flames. Stepping into the now green fire, he pressed his finger to his left arm and murmured, "Portus Mosmordre."  
  
He whirled through ash and flame, and landed smoothly in a dark chamber suffused with a green glow. Before him stood Lord Voldemort himself. Lucius dropped on his knees at once and kissed the hem of his master's robes. He then stood and stepped back, his head bowed.  
  
"You called, my lord?"  
  
A high, cold voice answered. "It is time, Lucius. Bring the boy to me."  
  
Panic flickered in his usually calm grey eyes. "My lord, he is not yet ready. He is only fifteen. He is still in school."  
  
"You are testing my patience, Lucius," the cold voice replied lazily. "Bring the boy or suffer the consequences. You knew this would happen. You should have been prepared. This is the best time to place the mark on your son, so he may serve as a spy for me at Hogwarts."  
  
Lucius kept his head bowed, letting the cruel words wash over him. He could not surrender his only son to this torture. He did not want to.  
  
"You have no choice, Lucius. You have to," Voldemort said, as though reading his mind.  
  
Several tears fell from Lucius' eyes, try as he might to stop them. He cursed himself for being so weak.  
  
"Are you crying, Lucius?" Voldemort mocked. "Perhaps I should remind you of real pain? Crucio!"  
  
Lucius writhed on the ground, shrieking until he thought his lungs would burst. The Dark Mark on his left arm was riddled in pain, and his body was on fire. His eyes lost focus as he threatened to black out. His screaming filled the chamber.  
  
"Quiet, you fool! Silencio!"  
  
His silent scream should have been even more horrible to watch, but Voldemort just gave a pitiless smile as he continued to point his wand at him.

................................................................................................................................................  
  
Harry Potter woke up suddenly, drenched in sweat. He took a quick look at Ginny, his only companion in the train compartment, to see if she had noticed anything. Thankfully, she seemed to be absorbed in a book she salvaged from the Room of Requirement last year, Jinxes for the Jinxed. He hastily wiped his sweaty face, then glanced back at her. Her brow was furrowed in concentration, her nose practically touching the page.  
  
"Better find something interesting in there so you can use it on Malfoy, eh?" he said jokingly.  
  
"Oh yes," she replied, "I was getting tired of always having him on the receiving end of my Bat-Bogey Hex. I'm looking for a nice change." She smiled mischievously.  
  
At the mention of Malfoy, Harry suddenly remembered what he had been dreaming about. It had seemed so real. He had had dreams that were real before, but then again, it might have been just a dream. For all he knew, Lucius Malfoy might be dead right now. He wondered how Malfoy himself might be feeling. He didn't have to wonder for long. The compartment door slid open.  
  
There Malfoy stood, alone for once. Something akin to disappointment flashed across his face, then Harry blinked and the expression was gone, replaced by his usual smirk. Harry must have imagined it.  
  
"Well, well, well. If it isn't Potter and his girlfriend," Malfoy drawled.  
  
Harry stood up abruptly, glaring with a hatred that only Malfoy could invoke in him. He had grown over the summer. So had Malfoy. Their faces were level with each other, both holding mutinous looks.  
  
In a flash, Malfoy whipped out his wand. "Rictusempra!"  
  
"Protego!" Harry shouted. The curse bounced back. Malfoy jumped out of the way. "Furnunculus!"  
  
Harry ducked just in time, the red jet of light rippling his hair. He straightened quickly and said, "Legilimens."  
  
Malfoy's thoughts played in Harry's mind, images flashing one after the other. A little boy with blond hair, gingerly trying on gel, his father, half laughing at, half scolding him... a boy of about 9 years old, getting on a broom for the first time, his father at his side smiling encouragingly...an older version of the boy, dueling fiercely, grinning from ear to ear... the same boy, finding his father lying sprawled in a room, his eyes cold as stone...  
  
"NO!!" Malfoy shouted, breaking Harry's contact. He was curled up on the floor, his hands gripping his hair, tears running down his face. He looked at Harry with pure fear. "Did you just see all of that?"  
  
"Malfoy—"  
  
"Shove off, Potter. Just leave me alone." He practically stumbled out of the compartment, breaking into a run.  
  
A stunned silence followed this. Finally, Ginny spoke. "You don't have to explain anything. I'm not sure I want to know anyway."  
  
He smiled at her gratefully, longing to go back to the days when his and Malfoy's relationship was as simple as a petty rivalry between two houses.

................................................................................................................................................  
  
Draco stumbled through each compartment until he reached the very end, where he could sit privately, facing the window. He collapsed into the seat, his head spinning.  
  
_What the hell just happened?!_ He thought. In some absurd way, Potter had just been able to read his mind! He knew everything. About his father. Draco struggled to fight the tears that threatened to spill over again. He couldn't help it. Memories of his father kept playing over and over in his mind until he wanted to escape from himself to a place where he couldn't feel any of it. Not a single bloody thing. He was tired as he never knew to be before. He felt like his head might explode from the pressure.  
  
The door slid open. _Just what I need,_ he thought sarcastically. _Company._  
  
Hermione Granger entered, closely followed by Ron Weasley. Draco groaned loudly.  
  
"Get out," he said flatly.  
  
"Nice to see you again too, Malfoy," Hermione said coolly. "Might I remind you that we, as prefects, have every right to be here as you do? Last time I checked, this is the prefects' compartment."  
  
"Yeah, and last time I checked, sons whose fathers have just been murdered are normally given their rightfully earned space," he snapped back, realizing too late the consequences of what he'd just said.  
  
Ron stood open-mouthed. Hermione covered her mouth in shame. "Oh Malfoy, I'm so sorry—"  
  
"I don't need your sympathy! Just leave. Please." He said, not bothering to hide the anguish in his voice.  
  
Ron looked like he wanted to say something more, but Hermione gave him a look before steering him out of the door. Draco thought he heard her whisper a simple Locking spell on the door, but cleverly doing it so that it could only be unlocked from Draco's side.  
  
You had to hand it to her, he thought. She was pretty cool.  
  
He could understand now why Potter was friends with her. If only she weren't from Gryffindor, he might have taken a liking to her. Actually, it was not so much that she was in Gryffindor, but it was that she wasn't in Slytherin. He thought savagely at how Potter would react to these thoughts. He'd probably be called an obnoxious git who was too high-minded for his own good.  
  
_Didn't they realize,_ he thought angrily, _that they were the ones who made us Slytherins the way we are?! They're all like that—the teachers, the students from other houses—they all look down on me and my housemates. They brand us as no good before they even get to know us. It's not our fault we have to stick together. It's not like they're interested in even being within ten feet of us._  
  
It was how people would look at him all his life. A Malfoy and a Slytherin. The injustice of it all made him pound against the glass window with such force that it shattered beneath his fist. He watched as his own blood blossomed out of several deep cuts. Splinters of glass were embedded deep in his skin. He forced himself not to wince as blood continued to trickle out, and started to seep into the sleeves of his robe.  
  
Someone was knocking in the compartment door. Draco waved his wand to unlock it.  
  
It was Harry. "Has anyone seen Herm—Malfoy! What happened to you?!"  
  
Draco cast an amused glance at the shocked expression on Harry's face before answering with utmost calm. "Well, I'm exercising masochism, obviously."  
  
Harry was at a loss for words. He walked out swiftly, returning with a bowl of clear water. He set it down across Draco. He took Draco's hand and looked at it closely. Draco, too tired to protest, let him do it. Harry then used the same spell Hermione used to remove the toad guts from underneath Neville's fingernails in their first year to gently remove the splinters of glass in Draco's hand. Then he held Draco's hand over the bowl, cupping water with his other hand and pouring it over the wounds. The water was pleasantly warm. Draco found himself to be calming down, much to his surprise. All the while, Harry was staring at anywhere but Draco's face.  
  
"Why are you bothering to do this?" Draco asked wearily.  
  
Harry paused to look at him. Their eyes met, and it was like the shards of glass that brought Harry there in the first place transferred themselves to his emerald green eyes. Draco saw in Harry's eyes, the feeling that so clearly dominated his actions. He saw pain, as transparent as glass.  
  
"Because I know what it feels like."  
  
"No you don't," Draco retorted, though without much conviction.  
  
"Yes I do. I know what it feels like to have someone die on you and you just weren't ready and you can't stop thinking of them but you want to just die as well because you know that thinking of them won't ever bring them back and you just want it all to end because you're tired and you can't do anything about it and it's all their fault because they're supposed to be here and they're not and it hurts and it hurts so bad—"  
  
Harry broke off, his voice starting to break. Draco was just looking back at him, listening to him. Harry realized, _He really understands me .He knows._  
  
Their hands were still touching, half submerged in the now blood- tinted water. It rippled innocently back at them as they both stared at the reason for their prolonged contact. Harry cleared his throat.  
  
"Er... I better get back to my compartment now. We must be almost there."  
  
"Oh. Right."  
  
As Harry slid the compartment door closed, both boys blinked back tears.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2  
  
_Though I have no real eyes_

_I see things you don't see_

_I know of prophecies that today have come to be_

_ A war is just beginning, as everyone believes_

_The question is, all of you, on whose side will you be?  
  
Godric Gryffindor was of brave heart_

_His courage knew no end_

_Rowena Ravenclaw was witty and smart_

_There was not a jinx she couldn't mend  
  
Helga Hufflepuff was just and true_

_And loyal to the other three_

_While Salazar Slytherin was most resourceful_

_And cunning as could be  
  
But think and think and think again_

_Of this war I have just mentioned_

_Shouldn't we just all be friends?_

_Forget past rivalries, and make amends?  
  
And to the dear new students_

_You have so much yet to learn_

_But lesson 1: stick together_

_And, regardless of your house, look out for each other  
  
Now that I have said all I need to say_

_No longer shall I delay in_

_Doing my rightful job today_

_Now, let the sorting begin!  
_  
Yet again, the Sorting Hat felt it its duty to give out a warning to the students. And yet again, it conveyed the same message—Stay together. Harry squirmed in his seat. He knew very well what prophecy had come true. After all he was the subject of it. He and Voldemort. The Sorting Hat probably knew the whole story, since it took residence in Dumbledore's office. Nobody else knew about it except for Professor Dumbledore and Harry. Even Voldemort did not know the whole prophecy, for if he did, he would not have made the terrible mistake he made sixteen years ago. Harry pushed his thoughts to the back of his head, not wanting to dwell on his horrible fate that was yet to come.  
  
When Harry decided to turn his attention back to the Sorting, it was practically done. The last student, (Winston, Martha) joined the Hufflepuff table. The clapping subsided as Dumbledore got up to speak.  
  
"Welcome to another year in Hogwarts. Let the feast begin!"  
  
The table was filled with platters of roast pork, roast beef, turkey, ham, sausages, steak, mashed potatoes, treacle fudge, chocolate pudding, and cherry mousse. Ron, on his left side, had already started shoving down bites of turkey. Hermione, on his right, was talking to a timid first year. ("Do you have any idea how much slave labor was used to make the dinner you see before you?!") The small boy looked too alarmed to do anything but nod fervently at her, a piece of sausage halfway to his slightly open mouth. Harry snickered quietly to himself.  
  
"'Choo laffin' about?" said a pimply-faced boy sitting across Harry. There was something familiar about that face...  
  
"Er... you wouldn't happen to know Stan Shunpike, would you?" he asked.  
  
"Course I do? 'E's my cousin! My name's Herbert Shunpike. You are?"  
  
"Harry Potter."  
  
"Not the 'Arry Potter? Stan's told me stuff 'bout choo. Rode the Knight Bus once, din' you? Said you was Neville Longbottom!"  
  
"Yeah, that's right," Harry said, glancing nervously at Neville, four seats away from him. He wondered what Neville would say if he knew that Harry had pretended to be him.  
  
A few minutes later, the plates were magically wiped of all food, leaving them sparkling and gold. Dumbledore got up once again, and all eyes were turned towards him.  
  
:"Please allow me to make a few start-of-term notices before we all retire to our beds. The Forbidden Forest is out of bounds to all students. Curfew time for fifth years and above is 9:00 pm, for fourth years and below, 7:00 pm. No magic is to be used along the corridors. Quidditch matches will take place this year. The decision of team captain is for the Heads of the Houses to make."  
  
Harry grinned as he heard the last statements. He had hoped he might become captain of the Gryffindor team this year. He was a bit nervous. After all, it was only Ron, him, Alicia and Katie on the team now. They'd have to hold tryouts soon. He glanced at Alicia and Katie across him. They grinned at him.  
  
"You're definitely going to be captain this year," Katie said, smiling. "We don't mind, though. You deserve it more than we do."  
  
"Thanks guys," he said.  
  
"Well then," said Dumbledore. "Off to bed with you all!"  
  
Harry followed the rest of the Gryffindors to the portrait of the Fat Lady.  
  
"Bodrod the Bearded," Hermione said. The portrait swung open and people clambered in, anxious to get to bed. Ron was waiting for Harry at the foot of the stairs. Harry followed him up to their dormitory. Dean, Neville and Seamus had already collapsed onto their beds, fast asleep.  
  
"That was some dinner we had, wasn't it?" Ron murmured sleepily. Harry yawned in reply. He flopped heavily onto his bed, removed his glasses and fell asleep at once.  
  
He dreamt that Draco Malfoy was at a beach, and then suddenly, his face was covered in blood, and he was shouting, "This is your entire fault, Harry!" Then Dumbledore appeared, with suntan lotion on his nose. He said, "Sirius is dead, Harry. He's dead." Then Lupin appeared, wearing Dobby's tea cozy. "He is gone Harry, Let go." Harry then cried, "Riddikulus!" And everything went black.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The next day dawned bright and sunny. Harry and Ron entered the Great Hall to find that Professor Mcgonagall was distributing their schedules already. They got one each and proceeded to scan them.  
  
"Oh, that's just great. Our first day back, and we're landed with Double Potions with Stinking Slytherin. It figures," Ron said, scowling down at his schedule.  
  
"Well, if it cheers you up, Lupin's back," said Hermione.  
  
Harry looked up at the staff table to see Professor Lupin talking to Professor Sinistra. He caught his eye and grinned widely. He had just arrived this morning, because Harry didn't see him at the Feast last night. His robes were as shabby as ever, but he looked quite healthy.  
  
Just then, Mcgonagall walked over towards Harry. She beckoned for him, Alicia, Katie and Ron to follow her to her office. ' "So, I've decided that Potter will be your new captain. That is if all of you agree to this," she said.  
  
"Of course, Professor," Alicia said, smiling.  
  
"Congratulations, Harry!" said Katie.  
  
"Good on you mate," Ron said, thumping him on the back.  
  
"Well then, now that that's settled, I wish you good luck, Mr. Potter. Please schedule tryouts sometime this week. You may go now."  
  
"So, um, are you all free this Friday afternoon for tryouts?" Harry asked them. They all nodded in reply. "Okay then. See you!"  
  
They met Hermione and went down with the rest of the Gryffindors to the dungeons, where Potions class was always held. Harry trudged along. He was not enthusiastic at the prospect of meeting again so soon with the teacher he loathed the most. He entered the classroom last. Snape was already there, glaring down at them all.  
  
"You're late, Mr. Potter. Five points from Gryffindor," he said silkily. Five years of knowing Snape taught Harry not to answer back, for it always made it worse. He satisfied himself with glaring back at Snape. Snape smiled maliciously.  
  
"Today we will be making an Energizing Tonic. This tonic is usually helpful to those students studying late into the night, and need their strength. I do hope this tonic will help you lot pass this class. Especially since some of you will need to do so for your N.E.W.T. class. Bear in mind that your class schedules are not yet final. A month from now, you will not be taking classes with your housemates. Rather, you will be joining your N.E.W.T. classmates. I will be giving a test at the end of this month to see who of you I will allow to join my N.E.W.T. class." He smiled coldly at them all. "The instructions for the tonic are on the board. The ingredients are in the store cupboard. Begin."  
  
Harry thought with dread about Snape's words while he crushed his eucalyptus leaves into a pulp. He knew that to be an Auror, he needed to take the N.E.W.T. Potion class. But Snape would no sooner let Harry take his class than help Neville make his tonic.  
  
"Hermione, I need your help," he said.  
  
"Of course, Harry. Why? What's wrong?" She peered at his face closely, her expression concerned.  
  
"I need to be able to get into Snape's N.E.W.T. class. Can you tutor me?"  
  
"Okay, Harry," she said, smiling.  
  
"Thanks Hermione. I owe you big time," Harry said, grinning.  
  
His potion was now a light blue. Hermione's was a perfect sky blue, as the finished product was supposed to be. Still, as he poured some into a flask, he couldn't help feeling that he did pretty well that day. He noticed that Malfoy's was sky blue like Hermione's, except that his was also wispy and swirling fast in his flask, like it was made of air. Malfoy was obviously the best student in this class, though Harry would never say this aloud to Hermione.

................................................................................................................................................

Draco looked down at his cauldron with a small feeling of pride. He had managed to get everything right, and his potion was nothing short of perfect. He ladled a sample of it into a clear flask, and secured it with a cork. He filled three vials as well. He had a feeling this particular potion would come in useful one of these days.  
  
Potions was one of the few classes that he enjoyed. It wasn't a surprise, seeing as Professor Snape was one of the few teachers, if not the only, who didn't contort his face into an expression of disgust whenever he was near Draco. It was much easier to concentrate when your teacher actually liked you. He carried the flask carefully and made his way to line up in front of Snape's desk. Harry went to stand behind him. He caught sight of Harry's potion sample, hesitated for a second, and then laughed aloud.  
  
"You call that an Energizing Tonic, Potter?" he said scornfully.  
  
Harry glared at him, but didn't say anything. Draco pressed on.  
  
"Better not try to use that, Potter. It might backfire and make you even dimmer than you already are, if that's even possible." A few Slytherins laughed boisterously at this.  
  
"Eat dung, Malfoy." Harry's hands were balled into fists.  
  
"Language, Potter," Snape said. "Ten points from Gryffindor."  
  
They had reached the front of the line. Draco sneered at him as he gave his flask to Snape, and then walked quickly out of the dungeons, beckoning to Crabbe and Goyle to follow him. 


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"Once a git, always a git," Ron muttered as Harry joined him and Hermione outside the door. "You'd think he'd spend more time grieving over his father and would have lost his enthusiasm for tormenting people, but, I guess he hasn't." Harry nodded,

frowning at Draco's retreating figure.

"I think he is grieving. He's still bothered by it, but he just doesn't know what to do, except to try and act the way he did before," Hermione said thoughtfully.

"And what exactly makes you think that, hmm? Seemed like the same old bad ass attitude to me," Ron said.

"Well, I noticed that during the whole class, he kept his head bowed as he worked. He usually looks toward us a lot, making snide remarks and trying to provoke us. But today he worked in complete silence. He didn't even gloat when Snape complimented him for his potion."

"But what about what happened a while ago?" Harry said. "He insulted me for my potion!"

"I guess neither of you noticed the way he hesitated a moment before he threw the insult? Well, he did. And he didn't have much of a choice. You were right behind him. It would have seemed very suspicious if he didn't even say anything."

Harry replayed the scene in his mind. He realized that Hermione was right. He paused to marvel at how very observant Hermione was. It was the way she noticed everything that made her one of the easiest people to be friends with, and at the same time, one of the hardest.

They proceeded to the Greenhouses, to have Herbology with the Hufflepuffs. Professor Sprout was waiting for them outside Greenhouse three. She chivvied them inside, closing the door behind the last student.

"Today, we will be collecting the sap of the Venomous Tentacula. This plant is sneaky, and will attempt to poison you if you don't guard yourselves. Three of you to a plant. Two will take these needles here in front of me. You will use them to pin the plant to the table and to puncture the places where the sap is to be taken from. The third student will collect the sap in these bottles and seal them with these rubber stoppers. Don't forget to use your gloves to squeeze the sap out."

Harry, Ron and Hermione worked on one plant together. It wasn't very hard work; they just had to occasionally poke the vine with their needles to keep it in line. They were able to fill five bottles with the milky substance when Professor Sprout told them to wrap up.

"Now, that I have the sap, who can tell me what this sap is used for?"

To no one's surprise, Hermione raised her hand.

"Venomous Tentacula's sap, if absolutely pure, can be administered as an antidote for snake bites. Although it is normally poisonous to humans, when drank by someone with snake venom in his bloodstream, it will act as an antibody, thus rendering the poison ineffective."

"Excellent, Ms. Granger. Ten points to Gryffindor. I will be leaving these bottles here in the Greenhouse three cupboards. I daresay it would be useful one of these days."

The three of them got their things and hurried to the Great Hall, eager to have lunch. Ginny smiled at them from the table, and they sat down beside her.

"So Ginny, how was your first morning in your O.W.L. year?" Harry said conversationally, as he reached for the plate of chicken before him.

"It was absolutely horrible. In the three subjects I had, I somehow got a three-foot long essay on Goblin Rebellions, detailed research on how to handle Muggle money, and a whole dream diary!" she stared mournfully at her peas and carrots, as though it held a solution for her sudden amount of workload.

"Oh, so you're taking Muggle Studies are you?" Hermione said. "I can do your Muggle money research for you, if you want. When is it due?"

"Tomorrow," she replied glumly.

"No problem," Hermione said briskly. She whipped out a piece of parchment and a quill, and began to write, pausing every now and then to take bites out of her sandwich. Ron looked at her incredulously. _Can you believe her? _He mouthed at Harry. Harry shrugged in acknowledgement. He didn't see why Ron was still surprised at the way Hermione so readily helped people. She always went out of her way to do things for him and Ron.

................................................................................................................................................

The rest of the day passed by Draco in a blur of color and sound. He hardly paid attention during Charms, so that the rabbit he was supposed to be turning pink grew dangerous-looking vampire fangs. He had managed to freeze the rabbit hastily, and was able to turn it pink in the end. He wasn't so sure that Flitwick was satisfied with his frozen vampire bunny. He tried to convince his professor that it gave the rabbit a certain sex appeal, and he was really helping it widen its social circle, but he didn't think Flitwick bought his story.

He had lunch, barely noticing his food. When Goyle tried to talk to him, Draco put a Silencing Spell on him. No one really noticed though, since it usually took Goyle a long time to think of something to say, and an even longer time to say it.

It was easy not to draw attention to himself during Double History of Magic. All he had to do was keep quiet, although he couldn't sleep, even as he successfully blocked out Binns' drone.

Before he knew it, he was on his way to his last class, Defense Against the Dark Arts. They were all seated by the time Professor Lupin entered the room.

"I understand that a lot of you may need this class for your N.E.W.T. studies. There are quite a lot of careers that would require this subject. The reason Professor Dumbledore has decided to give one month's allowance for us to decide the N.E.W.T. classes for each of you is because he feels that some of you, given the circumstances of authority last year, were not able to show their full potential in their O.W.L. exams. I feel that it is best that we review the spells that should have been covered last year. Since none of you have been able to attempt them at all, it would seem unfair if I do not even give you the chance to practice them. Find your partners. We will start with the Shield Charm. I believe Ms. Murdock is in the hospital wing, so your class seems to be of an uneven number at the moment. Mr. Malfoy, you may pair up with me."

Draco stood automatically at the mention of his name. He moved to the front of the room across Lupin. The sound of chairs scraping against wood filled the room as students stood up to find their partners.

Lupin spoke again. "Take turns throwing spells and blocking them with the Shield Charm. The Disarming Spell is the most practical spell to use in this situation. Watch me first as I block Mr. Malfoy, so you see how it's done."

Malfoy took out his wand and pointed it at Lupin's. "Expelliar—"

"Protego!" Lupin shouted. His wand had started to slip from his fingers, then just in time, slid back into his firm grasp. "Remember to keep your mind focused on what you're doing. The more confidence you place in the spell, the stronger its effect will be."

They practiced the Shield Charm for the whole lesson. Draco managed to block almost all of Lupin's spells. He made his way back to his seat feeling drained of all his energy.

"That was good, class. Please practice on your own if you haven't mastered it yet. We'll have to move on to the next lesson, I'm afraid, and we won't be reviewing this one anymore."

He cast a worried glance at Crabbe and Goyle, who had been partners. Both of them had been unable to produce shields, and were now suffering the effects of each other's spells. Crabbe was still snickering uncontrollably, but the Tickling Charm was wearing off. Goyle on the other hand, was searching for his wand under every table, for he had lost it when Crabbe disarmed him. He didn't realize that it was in Crabbe's hand, and Crabbe could not be expected to tell him so, considering the state he was in.

"Finite Incantatem," Lupin muttered.

Crabbe stopped laughing, looking around in a bemused way. "Here's your wand, Gregory."

"You may go now," Lupin said, as Goyle threw dagger looks at Crabbe.

Draco left them to it and went to the Great Hall to have dinner. He was exhausted from the lesson, but he somehow had no appetite. He forced down a few bites of steak, downed it with a glass of pumpkin juice, and stood up to go to the Slytherin common room. He felt an annoying tugging on his sleeve.

"You're leaving so soon, Draco?" a familiar voice simpered. "I wanted to talk to you."

"Not now, Pansy," Draco said, sighing. "I'm tired, and I'm not in the mood."

"You're always like that nowadays. You never have any time for me anymore!" she whined, clutching onto his arm.

He bit back the retort, "When did I ever have time for you?!" Instead, he gently removed his arm from her grasp and thought quickly of a good excuse. "I need to get some sleep. We're holding Quidditch tryouts this Wednesday and I need to think of what I'm going to make them do."

He was made captain of the Slytherin team by Snape. It was partly true anyway; the Quidditch tryouts were that coming Wednesday, but he had no intention of spending the night thinking about it. He needed to sleep.

"Okay then, Draco," she said, smiling.

_Such a sweet girl, _he thought as he made his way to the dungeons. _If only she weren't so shallow, she would have been perfect for me. A pureblood, Slytherin, kind of attractive. As father used to say, 'Qualities worthy of a Malfoy.'_

_But that doesn't matter now, does it? _he thought sadly. _He's gone._

He had reached his dormitory. Having changed into green silk pajamas, he lay down on his four poster bed and looked up at the black ceiling. He suddenly remembered a Muggle nursery rhyme his mother used to sing him to sleep with, much to his father's annoyance.

_Rock-a-bye baby, on the treetop_

_When the wind blows, the cradle will rock_

_When the bow breaks, the cradle will fall_

_And down will come baby, cradle and all_

Draco woke up the next day, remembering only flashes of his dream. He remembered green lightning, repeatedly striking the branch of a dead tree. And he started to fall, and he just kept on falling, never hitting the ground.

"Damn it. I need some coffee."

................................................................................................................................................

It was Wednesday. Draco hated Wednesdays. It left you hanging, not knowing what to expect. It was the middle of the week. It seemed like you were so far from the weekend, yet you couldn't remember what you did in the past two days. And Draco found this lack of control unnerving.

He looked around from his seat on his broom. They were having Quidditch tryouts. He had to fill in the spots for all three Chasers and the Keeper. Blaise Zabini was in front of the hoops waiting for Draco to throw the Quaffle at him. Draco faked swerving to the right and at the last minute, threw it towards the left goal hoop. Blaise hurtled through the air, managing to push it away with the tips of his fingers. Draco caught it smoothly and launched it towards the middle hoop. Blaise flew a little too far, missing the hoop by some inches, but was able to whack it away with the tail of his broom. Draco threw three more times, and Blaise let the ball through only once.

_Not bad, _Draco thought, as Blaise flew to the ground and dismounted. He called for Crabbe and Goyle to try out the chasers, three at a time. He decided on a skinny brunette, a thuggish-looking guy, and boy with curly blonde hair. He chose Blaise as their Keeper. They all seemed to be fairly talented. Blaise was a tad clumsy, but they could work on that later on.

Suddenly he noticed Harry sitting in the stands, with something akin to amusement playing on his face. Draco walked over to him, sneering.

"What are you doing here, Potter?" he said testily.

"I just wanted to see what we're up against," he replied, shrugging. "Congratulations. I see you've managed to put up a pretty good team. Of course, I was mildly surprised when you picked a girl to play. After all, Flint seemed to think he didn't need any girls on the Slytherin team."

"Well, I'm not Flint," Draco said tersely. "I happen to care about my teammates' actual skill, if you know what I mean."

"Oh yeah?" Harry challenged. "Then why are they still here?" he said, jabbing his thumb in the direction of Crabbe and Goyle, who were struggling to strap the bludgers down.

"You can't expect me to kick them off the team, can you? They're my friends. Besides, you're the one who's playing alongside that Weasley amateur, so you're one to talk."

"Hey! Ron's good! He's better than you, anyway."

Draco laughed. "Better than me?! Weasley couldn't block the Quaffle if it danced in front of him disguised as Professor Mcgonagall stark naked!"

Harry fought to suppress a smile at that. He could just imagine Mcgona—no, wait he couldn't imagine. He _did not want to _imagine. Now he knew he'd never be able to see Professor Mcgonagall in the same way again.

"Besides, you can't deny that you thought he was no good last year. I mean, you're friends and all, but don't tell me you never thought he was rubbish at the game."

Harry stopped imagining Mcgonagall for a moment. Come to think of it, he did have his doubts about Ron last year. He remembered thinking that it would even be kinder that they just let Ron resign from the team, with all the bad it was doing him. Harry looked up at Draco and nodded, realizing that Draco was right.

Draco smiled smugly. "I rest my case." He walked away swiftly, feeling quite pleased with himself for getting one over Harry.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Friday afternoon meant Double Transfiguration with Ravenclaw. Harry glanced at his schedule to make sure, then turned his attention back to his food. Hermione, on his right, was reading the Daily Prophet. Ron on his left was trying to complete a jigsaw puzzle that depicted the bassist of the Weird Sisters. The pieces glowed gold when they were put in the right place. Ron put the last piece in its rightful position, and the Weird sister started to play a famous bass riff, winking at Ron from the picture. He sighed dreamily.

"She's so hot," he said gazing down at the picture. Harry leaned over to see, and he had to agree, she was kind of cute.

"Where'd you get that anyway?" Harry asked Ron.

"Fred and George made it. They sent it over yesterday. I wonder how they knew I liked her. I mean, I don't think I ever told them, did I?" He furrowed his brow, trying to remember.

"They didn't know. It's enchanted to turn into a picture of whoever you fancy at the moment," Hermione said.

"How'd you know that?" Ron asked incredulously.

"'Cause when I picked it up last night, it turned into… s-someone else," Hermione stammered.

"Who's the lucky guy, Hermione?" Harry said, grinning. "Come on, you can tell us."

"Yeah, it wouldn't happen to be Vicky, would it?" Ron said smirking.

"Yeah, that's right. It was him," Hermione said quickly. But Harry couldn't help thinking that she wasn't telling them the truth. A pink tinge had appeared on her cheeks and she promptly hid her face behind the newspaper again.

"What about you, Harry? You want to have a go?" Ron said, brandishing the puzzle in front of him. The Weird Sister lost her balance and fell towards the side of the picture. She got up gingerly, brushing dust off her dragon hide pants and glaring at Harry, as if it were his fault.

He took the puzzle from Ron. The pieces began to glow before him, rearranging themselves in a whirl of gold. When they had settled, he gave a gasp of surprise. There, with the familiar sneer pasted on his face, was Malfoy.

Ron was looking indignantly from the picture to Harry then back to the picture. "Harry! You never told me you were gay!" Suddenly every face within hearing distance turned towards him. Ron looked properly ashamed.

"Harry is not gay," Hermione said calmly. "I'm guessing Fred and George enchanted the puzzle, not thinking of what would appear if the person holding it had no love interest. Obviously, Harry doesn't have a crush on anyone at the moment, so the puzzle showed someone he felt something strongly towards."

When everyone continued to look dumbfounded, Harry gave a feeble smile. "It's a love-hate relationship."

Luckily for him, everyone laughed and turned back to whatever they were doing. Ron was looking sheepishly at him.

"Sorry about that, Harry. So you still want to do the puzzle? Just tap your wand on it once and the pieces will mix themselves up."

Harry shook his head. "I don't think I'm in the mood for playing with any piece of Malfoy, but thanks anyway." Beside him, Hermione burst into a fit of giggles. Ron took the puzzle back, and Malfoy turned back into the Weird Sister.

Harry thought he heard Ron mutter, "He is definitely gay."

................................................................................................................................................

Transfiguration passed by without much cause for excitement, except for when Neville accidentally turned his lizard into a small ferocious crocodile, which bit off the wing of Parvati's butterfly plait before Mcgonagall could vanish it. As Harry, Hermione and Ron left the room, they could still hear Parvati demanding that Neville replace her clip. He and Ron parted ways with Hermione; they went on to the Quidditch field while Hermione went up to the Gryffindor Tower.

"So we need two Beaters and one Chaser," Harry thought aloud.

"I wonder who'll turn up. I hope we'll find decent people," Ron said.

They reached the pitch. Alicia and Katie were already in the air, doing warm-ups. The chest lay open on the ground, with all four balls securely strapped in. A handful of students stood in a group, each clutching their brooms nervously. Harry signaled for Alicia and Katie to join them on the ground. Katie handed him a piece of parchment.

"This is a list of the people who are here to try out," she explained. "I thought it would be best if we go through them alphabetically, to be fair."

Harry squinted down at the list.

**Name Year Position Score**

Abercrombie, Euan 2nd Beater /5

Creevey, Colin 5th Beater /5

Creevey, Dennis 3rd Chaser /3 /3

Mcdonald, Natalie 3rd Chaser /3 /3

Thomas, Dean 6th Beater /5

Weasley, Ginny 5th Chaser /3 /3

"Well okay then. Here's how we'll do it." Harry cleared his throat nervously. "If you want the position of Beater, you're going to play, pretending that Alicia and Katie are on the opposing team, and Ron is on your team. We'll try out one Beater at a time. You'll have five chances to beat the Bludger towards Alicia or Katie. You'll be judged according to how difficult our two Chasers find it to avoid your Bludgers. Understood?"

They nodded silently.

"And if you're trying out for the Chaser position, Katie and Alicia will be on your team and Ron on the other. There will be two sides to your try-out. First, Alicia and Katie will pass the Quaffle among themselves and you. They will pass the ball to you three times, but they will attempt to catch you by surprise, so be alert. The second part will be only you against Ron, our Keeper. You will be given three chances to shoot the Quaffle through the hoop. So that's about it. Any questions? Okay then, let's start. Abercrombie, Euan, Beater position."

Alicia, Katie and Ron took their positions while Harry sat down on the front bench, scrutinizing Euan even as he mounted his broom and kicked off the ground. Harry released the Bludger a few seconds after. It hurtled through the air, heading toward Ron. Euan tore after it, but Ron dodged it before Euan reached him. Alicia took advantage and scored a goal. Euan hit the Bludger towards her, catching her by surprise. It hit her broom tail, and she lost her balance, dropping the Quaffle. Katie caught it smoothly from under her, easily dodging the 2nd Bludger Euan beat towards her. She put it through easily. He panicked, and was not able to aim properly during his 3rd and 4th tries. His 5th attempt shot straight between the two Chasers as they were passing the Quaffle, forcing them to separate, and leaving the Quaffle to fall to the ground. Harry gave him two out of five.

Colin Creevey was no better. Try as he might to beat the Bludger, his tiny body was no match for the weight of the heavy black ball. When he did manage to hit it properly, it went straight towards Ron, who was supposed to be on his team. He was able to beat one towards Katie, but she flew out of its path easily. Harry sighed as he gave Colin one out of five for effort.

Dennis Creevey might have played well, if he weren't so excited about the whole thing. During the first round, he kept flashing thumbs up signs at Colin and mouthing words that Colin couldn't even decipher, causing him to miss all three passes. During the 2nd round, he was able shoot the Quaffle past Ron on his first try, but he was so surprised that it went in that he gave a little yelp of glee, and fell off his broom. He stood up at once and limped towards them, mouthing, "_I fell off my broom!" _He was ecstatic.

Natalie Mcdonald was able to catch all three passes during the first round. In the 2nd round, she tried faking to the right and throwing towards the left hoop at the last minute, but Ron was expecting it, and saved it easily. Her second went straight towards the left hoop again, but Ron blocked that too. Infuriated, she threw it hard towards the center hoop. It hit Ron on his stomach, knocking the wind out of him and causing him to bang his head unceremoniously on the center hoop. Harry laughed uncontrollably at this, but stopped as soon as he saw the mutinous look on Ron's face. _She's got great aim, I'll give her that. Plus she's got style, _he thought, as he wrote down her score—3/3 and 1/3.

Dean Thomas was pretty good. His first try was aimed to hurtle straight across both Chasers' paths, effectively forcing them to change direction. He beat his second towards Katie while she held the Quaffle. It hit her wrist, and she howled with pain as the Quaffle fell into Alicia's outstretched arms. But already, Dean had chased after the Bludger and quickly beat it towards Alicia. She dropped the Quaffle in surprise. Katie caught it once more, and dodged Dean's 4th try. She scored. Katie passed it quickly towards Alicia. Alicia was hurtling towards the goal posts. Dean gave an almighty swing, and the Bludger caught up with her, slamming into her back, knocking the Quaffle out of her hands. Harry grinned as he gave Dean a four out of five.

Finally, they were down to the last student. Harry smirked as he saw Ron glaring down at Dean, who squeezed Ginny's hand reassuringly as she prepared to kick off from the ground. She perfected the first round easily, her face determined and her body alert. Harry saw that she hesitated during the 2nd round. Ron was staring at her coolly, as if challenging her to beat him. She threw the Quaffle towards the center hoop and Ron blocked it. She caught it deftly, her brown eyes narrowed at her brother. She faked to the left, then changed direction to shoot through the right hoop. Ron followed her swiftly. Then she grinned and shot it towards the center. It passed neatly through. Then she caught it in a flash, and threw it quickly towards the left hoop. It went straight through. She did it so fast that had Harry blinked, he would have missed her third shot. There was no denying it. Ginny Weasley was a superb Chaser. He gave her three out of three and two out of three, thinking that she would have probably gotten full marks if Ron weren't the one she was playing against.

Harry called all of them over. "That was great, you guys. I have the results here. Our two new beaters are Euan and Dean. Our new Chaser is Ginny. Thanks for coming, all of you. See you around!" Harry and Ron stayed behind to keep the Quaffle and the Bludger that they used.

"Hey Ron, you never told me Ginny's such a good Chaser!" Harry said, smiling. To his surprise, Ron scowled at his shoes.

"She got Charlie's skill," he muttered.

Harry didn't know what to say to that, so he kept silent. He knew what Ron must have been feeling up there, facing Ginny. Right there and then, he really felt sorry for Ron. It must have been hard living up to his five older brothers, but to have to live up to his younger sister… would be unbearable. He wanted to say something to Ron so he could realize how great he was and how great Harry thought he was. Harry made to touch his shoulder.

"Look Ron—"

"You don't know what it feels like, okay?! Just leave me alone. I'm not in the mood." Ron said hotly.

Harry made his way to the Tower on his own, with a sinking feeling that he had heard those words just five days ago, from the person he least expected.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6  
  
Draco entered the Great Hall. He approached the Slytherin table, and noticed that a small boy, probably a first year was sitting nervously on Draco's usual seat. He frowned a little at this. The boy looked up at him, eyes widening. Draco made a motion as if to wave him off the chair, and the boy toppled off and scrambled away, just as if Draco had shouted a Banishing Spell at him. Draco cast an amused glance at the boy before sitting down with a sigh. It was yet another dinner that he would have to sit through without breaking down in tears. He shuddered at the thought of the consequences of that.  
  
_And yet,_ he mused, _it's Friday today. The week just flew by..._ He wasn't entirely sure if he was being sarcastic. Sometimes it felt like time could go no slower, and yet at other times, it seemed like he just flitted from class to class, an insignificant spirit who nobody paid attention to.  
  
He reached for the beef stew, ladled some into his bowl, and mechanically began to eat. Scoop, bite, chew, chew, chew, swallow. He heard a voice on his right.  
  
"What are you doing here, Mudblood?" Pansy sneered. Draco looked up. Hermione Granger was standing next to him. She gave him a searching look, her brow furrowed. He suddenly realized that his mouth was open. He snapped it shut and arranged his face into what he hoped was a sneer.  
  
"What do you want, Granger?"  
  
She handed Draco a small piece of parchment, folded in half. Draco took it, casting a suspicious look at her.  
  
"What's this, a love letter?" he asked scathingly. The Slytherins nearby laughed loudly and made whistling sounds. Draco raised his hand slightly to silence them.  
  
Hermione spoke calmly. "Actually, it's a request."  
  
Amidst the shocked stares of his housemates, Draco motioned for her to follow him outside the Great Hall. Then he unfolded the parchment.  
  
_Malfoy,  
  
Harry needs to take the N.E.W.T. Potions class so he can get the job he wants. But, as I'm sure you've noticed, he needs help passing the class. He asked me if I could help him but I don't really feel I'm the best one to tutor him. I can understand the concepts on my own, but I don't know how to explain them. We both know that you're better than me at Potions; you're possibly the best in our year,—Draco raised his eyebrows at this—and I was wondering if you could tutor Harry instead. Please consider this. I know it means a lot to him.  
_  
Draco lifted his eyes from the parchment to stare at her. "And what makes you think I'll do this, huh?" Hermione pursed her lips. Draco knew she was choosing her words.  
  
"Well, it's really your choice, Malfoy. But bear in mind, if you don't give it a shot, I might just let a certain something slip."  
  
Draco stared at her in horror. He knew she was talking about what she found out on the train going to Hogwarts. "You wouldn't..." he said hoarsely.  
  
"Oh I just might, you know," she said with maddening superiority.  
  
"Are you blackmailing me?"  
  
"Why yes, I am," she said, amused. "Glad you caught on."  
  
He paused for a while, weighing his options. Then he realized he had no choice.  
  
_This is the same girl who slapped you in the face back in 3rd year, remember?_ He thought.  
  
"When?"  
  
"Tonight at 8. On the seventh floor, in the room across the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy."  
  
Draco looked at her, frowning. She looked back at him, holding his gaze.  
  
"Okay."  
  
She beamed at him before leaving to go to the Gryffindor Tower. Draco made his way to the dungeons, thinking that were he in his right mind, he would never have consented to such a request. That must be it. I'm going completely insane.

................................................................................................................................................  
  
Harry sat on the couch in front of the fire, which was crackling merrily at him, as though telling him in a Mary Poppins tone of voice, "Everything looks better over ice cream!"  
  
"Save it for someone who cares," he muttered. His stomach rumbled in protest. "I am not hungry," he said loudly. "And I do not need ice cream!"  
  
A few second years nearby gave him alarmed looks. His face burned red.  
  
_Great going, Potter. You've just convinced them that you're absolutely mental. Talking to fires now, eh?_ an annoying voice piped in his head.  
  
_I am mental,_ he thought desperately. "I'm mental," he muttered to his knees.  
  
"You're not mental," Hermione said firmly. She had just climbed out of the portrait hole and was striding towards him. "By the way, remember when you asked me to tutor you in Potions? Well I decided I'm not really the right person to teach you because I don't really know how to teach I mean I can understand the concept but I can't explain it so I asked someone else and they agreed so you can meet together later in the Room of Requirement at eight. Oh yeah, it's Malfoy." She said this all in one breath, probably because she felt that it might lessen the shock a little.  
  
Harry gaped at her. "You're mental!"  
  
"I most certainly am not!" Hermione said, with such an affronted look on her face that Harry had to laugh. But then he realized the meaning of what she had just said, and glared at her.  
  
"What were you thinking Hermione?! You expect me to get along with that... that... fag?!"  
  
Hermione raised her eyebrows. "Fag?"  
  
"Well he is!" Harry said hotly. "It's so obvious. Look at the way he swaggers and the clothes he wears. They're all so suave, so Malfoy, so gay."  
  
Hermione laughed. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you fancied him."  
  
"I most certainly do not!" It was Harry's turn to look affronted. Hermione collapsed into giggles.  
  
"You have no idea how gay that sounded." Harry fought to suppress a smile.  
  
"Okay fine then. I'll do it," he said, as though resigned to the worst. And then, as though as an afterthought, "I am mental."  
  
Hermione sighed, her eyes twinkling mischievously. "Ah, the joys of matchmaking." She ducked as Harry made to swat her.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7  
  
Draco made his way to the seventh floor, looking around self-consciously. He did not want to bump into any of his housemates at the time. Even Crabbe and Goyle weren't stupid enough to not find any connection whatsoever with his nighttime stroll and Hermione Granger's unknown request. They might even let their imaginations run wild. Oh dear. Whatever might pop into their thick skulls would probably be really far from the truth and the end of his reputation. He reached the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy. Across it was a door much like the doors down in the dungeons. Intrigued, Draco opened the door.  
  
He found himself in a room very much like Snape's dungeon. There was a large glass cupboard at one side of the room, full of Potions ingredients that surpassed the number of those in the students' store cupboard. On the opposite side was a bookcase full of Potions-related material. He was mildly surprised to see a new copy of Moste Potente Potions on the shelf. He had only ever seen that book in his father's study. It was probably in the Restricted Section, so what was a copy of it doing here? In the middle of the room was a table. Harry had set his cauldron on it and was standing patiently behind it, watching Draco take in the room. Draco shot him a questioning glance.  
  
"Neat, isn't it?" Harry said.  
  
"How did you—" Draco sputtered.  
  
"This, Malfoy, is the Room of Requirement. It will transform into any kind of room you need. All you have to do is to walk past the wall outside three times, concentrating hard on what you need." He smiled smugly.  
  
"This room is incredible," Malfoy said, awestruck. "I can't believe this. Bloody hell. I could live here."  
  
"I see you like it."  
  
"I love it." Draco looked over at Harry in a weird sort of way. "Damn it, Potter. Why I am I always blabbering out my deepest darkest feelings to your unworthy person?"  
  
"Must be my natural charm," Harry said, smirking. "Don't worry. It's kind of obvious how ecstatic you are during Potions class. You'd have to be extremely thick not to notice how you love to stand over your cauldron, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses. How you take pleasure in bottling fame, brewing glory, even putting a stopper in death.  
  
Draco raised an eyebrow in a very fetching manner. "How'd you remember all that? Snape said that back in first year!"  
  
"Well, I was paying attention, which he said I wasn't. And I'd be hard put not to forget that—it was the speech that made my life a living hell."  
  
Draco gave a triumphant smile. "And now it's my turn."  
  
"Your turn to what?" said Harry, distracted.  
  
"To make your life a living hell."  
  
"Let's get this over with, then."

................................................................................................................................................

_Two days later..._  
  
"You're making my life a living hell."  
  
"A Malfoy is always true to his word."  
  
"It's 3:00 in the morning! Can't we just do this later again tonight?!"  
  
Harry glared at him from across his cauldron, red smoke rising between them. Draco gave him a steely gaze. "Potter, you're not going anywhere until you get this Sleeping Potion right. I can't have you failing Potions if you're under my tutelage! Look at the vapor that's rising. It's red. Potter, it's supposed to be purple!"  
  
"Well it doesn't help that whenever I make potions, the steam from my potion clouds up my glasses, and I can't read the instructions you write on the board across me. Also, I'm dead tired."  
  
"Well, why didn't you tell me? Do I have to do everything for you, Potter? It only takes a simple potion. Oh wait. I don't have a cauldron."  
  
"No problem." Harry thought to himself, _I need an extra cauldron._ Another cauldron appeared beside Harry's. Draco shook his head in wonder before collecting some ingredients.  
  
He threw them all into the cauldron, then added water until the mark ¼. He stirred it three times counter clockwise and one time clockwise. He then lit a fire under, then waited until it boiled. He stirred it three times clockwise and one time counter clockwise. An orange mist had settled over the thick blue substance. Then he put out the fire and took off Harry's glasses. He soaked the lenses completely in the potion. The orange mist turned yellow. He took out the glasses, now dry, and handed them back to Harry.  
  
"That should do it. You'll be able to see through all types of gaseous substances now. Unless they break. The Reparo charm will cancel it out."  
  
"Thanks," Harry said, amazed.  
  
"Piece of cake, Potter. Oh yeah, drink this as well." He drew out a small vial from the inside of his robes. Harry recognized the swirling sky blue liquid as the Energizing Tonic they had done in class. He downed it in one gulp. It tasted like a fruity sort of drink, slightly bitter but palatable. It left him feeling wide awake and restless.  
  
"Now Potter, let's try the Potion again. Evanesco." His poor excuse for a Sleeping Potion vanished, leaving a clean, empty cauldron.  
  
"Now, try it again."

................................................................................................................................................  
  
_5 a.m._  
  
"Much better, Potter. Much better."  
  
Harry looked proudly at his cauldron, where his Sleeping Potion was cooling down and steadily getting thicker. It was a bubblegum-like purple, just like the appropriate color of the end product.  
  
"Hey, Potter. You're glowing."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"You're blushing, Potter! See?" He waved a small mirror in front of Harry. He was turning red! It was just because he was proud about his potion. That was it. Yeah. He was glowing with pride.  
  
Draco groaned. "I'm too tired to even think about why you're blushing in front of me. Just give me some of that potion you made, and drink some as well. God knows I need a dreamless sleep."  
  
_What did he mean by that?_ Harry thought. _Oh, we need a bed to collapse on._  
  
A queen-sized bed appeared next to the table. Harry drank some of the Sleeping Potion out of a flask and gave it clumsily to Draco before collapsing onto the bed. Draco gulped down some, and then fell unceremoniously beside Harry.  
  
Harry woke up to find Draco bending over his cauldron, adding a powdery substance. He sat up, realizing that he had not bothered to take off his glasses before he fell asleep. He looked at the blackboard, and saw Draco's elaborate writing spell out a heading: The Forgetfulness Potion. He glared at the heading, feeling resentful all of a sudden.  
  
"Nice to know you're having as much fun as I am," he said sarcastically.  
  
Draco paused to turn and look at him. "I'm not trying to forget this," he said gesturing around. "I just need to forget... something else."  
  
Then Harry realized what he was trying to forget.  
  
"Numbing the pain for a while will only make it worse when you finally feel it," Harry said gently, subconsciously quoting the very words Albus Dumbledore told him the night Cedric Diggory died.  
  
"What do you know about it, Potter?" Malfoy blurted out.  
  
"Everything." Harry smiled at him sadly. "I see him in my dreams. I see Voldemort and everything he does. I see when he's happy. I see when he's angry. I see when he's killing. I see everyone he kills."  
  
"No. Stop. I don't want to hear it," Draco said suddenly.  
  
"I saw your father die."  
  
"No! You didn't! You're lying! Tell me you're lying!" Draco's knees gave way. He fell into Harry's lap, where he buried his face into Harry's robes, his voice muffled against Harry's chest. "Please. Tell me it's not true. It's not true. It's not true."  
  
Harry's robes soaked up Draco's tears as the blond boy held onto him like he was the only real thing left. It was Harry's connection to Voldemort that Draco had relied on. He begged Harry to tell him his father was alive, but Harry just couldn't do it. Instead he patted Draco awkwardly on the back. He let Draco hold him for what seemed like eternity and his heart cried out for the boy who could only deny the inevitable.  
  
Harry had accepted Sirius' death a long time ago. Yes, he still mourned him, but he knew that Sirius would never come back.  
  
But Draco was a lost little boy who knew only that his father was a strong man, his role model, his mentor, indestructible. And he couldn't bring himself to face the fact that his father had gone. Forever.  
  
Draco finally pulled away from Harry, sitting beside him on the bed.  
  
"He left me. Why did he do that? He said he would never leave me. Never."  
  
"He didn't leave you. He didn't want to. If he had sacrificed you to Voldemort, yes, you could say he left you. If he had forced you to become a Death Eater, then he would have left you. But he sacrificed himself for you. He didn't leave you. He loved you." Harry didn't know how these words were spilling out of his mouth. All he knew was that they were the right words to say.  
  
Draco buried his head in his hands, tearing at his hair. "It's just so hard..." he whispered, despair tinting his words.  
  
"I know," Harry whispered back.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

The next day, Harry woke up in his dormitory. Wondering vaguely how he had managed to get himself there, he dressed quickly and went down to breakfast. He found Ron hovering outside the entrance to the Great Hall, looking at him sheepishly.

"Look, Harry, I'm sorry about last Friday…" Ron trailed off uncertainly.

"It's okay Ron. It's my fault. I shouldn't have mentioned—"

"No it's my fault. I should've been happy for her; it's what she wanted all along."

"Look, she's a great Chaser, and we're on the same team alright? She'll do her best as a Chaser, and you'll be a superb Keeper." Harry said.

Ron smiled. "Right." They entered the Great Hall together, both feeling considerably lighter. They took seats on each side of Hermione. Harry reached out for the bacon and eggs, suddenly hungry.

"So how did it go?" Hermione said in an undertone.

"It went pretty well, actually. Malfoy's a pretty good teacher."

"So you didn't bite each other's heads off?" she asked skeptically

"Well, Malfoy came pretty close, but that was only because I was such a bad student. He really liked the Room of Requirement, you know. It was a Potions dungeon then, with a lot more potion ingredients than the one of Snape. And he was absolutely enthralled by it. He _loved_ it, Hermione." Harry was smiling widely. Hermione had half a mind to slap the silly grin off his face. Since when did Harry care about Malfoy's happiness?

"That's great, Harry. I'm glad you're getting along fine." She smiled at him warmly.

Students had begun to leave to go to their classes. Harry got up with a sigh.

"Well, here goes," he said, heading towards the dungeons.

Draco eyed Harry as he entered the Potions classroom. His black hair was messier than usual, and there were light shadows under his eyes. Draco squirmed guiltily. Maybe he should have given him another Energizing Tonic.

Harry set up his cauldron three tables away. He caught Draco's eye and gave a small smile. Draco frowned back, promptly turning to face Snape, who had just entered the room. He couldn't have anyone suspect what he and Potter were up to.

"Today, we will be making a simple Sleeping Potion. Instructions are on the board. Ingredients are in the store cupboard. Start."

Draco smiled as he heard Snape, following the others to get his ingredients. He went back his arms full. He put water up to the ½ mark and waited for it to boil. In the meantime, he shredded his daisy roots. He sneaked a glance at Harry. He was shredding his roots too, but he hadn't lit his fire so the water could heat up while he was doing other things.

_Hasn't he ever heard of multi-tasking? _He thought, annoyed. _He's going to take up more time that way. Oh well, he'll get it right anyway. It'll just take him longer._

Thirty minutes later, Draco put out his fire and watched as the potion grew steadily thicker. It stopped bubbling and was turning into a nice bubblegum purple. He ladled a portion of it into a flask, and walked up to Snape's table, looking around the room. He had been the first one to finish. Everyone else was still peering over their cauldrons, adding ingredients here and there. Hermione Granger might have finished first if she weren't so busy helping Neville; his potion was emitting pink sparks and she was feverishly whispering instructions out of the corner of her mouth.

"Well done, Draco. Ten points to Slytherin," Snape said, smiling as he took the flask. Out of the corner of his eye, Draco saw Ron pretending to gag into his cauldron. He smirked, eyeing Ron's watery potion. On the other side of the room, he noticed Goyle approaching Draco's cauldron, flask in hand. No doubt he was trying to get some of his potion and pass it off as his work. Snape frowned at Goyle.

"Evanesco," Snape said. The rest of Draco's potion vanished in a flash.

Draco strode back to his place, watching as Harry scooped some of his potion and put in a flask. It was a perfect color, but it was not as thick as Draco's in consistency. It was still a pretty good potion. Harry walked towards the desk, flask in hand, and gave it to a mildly surprised Snape, who looked at the flask suspiciously. Harry went back, feeling quite pleased with himself.

Snape proceeded to collect all the flasks and mark them. "I have decided to display the grades you got for this particular potion. This potion, after all, is just a level below the potions I will be assigning my N.E.W.T. class. He tapped the board with his wand, and their grades appeared.

_Name __Grade_ _Name_ _Grade_

Brown, Lavender A Malfoy, Draco O

Bulstrode, Millicent P Murdock, Anne A

Crabbe, Vincent P Nott, Richard E

Creek, Hector A Parkinson. Pansy P

Davis, Tracey E Patil, Parvati A

Finnigan, Seamus A Potter, Harry E

Goyle, Gregory D Thomas, Dean A

Granger, Hermione O Weasley, Ron P

Greengrass, Genevieve A Wolfcastle, Chelsey A

Longbottom, Neville D Zabini, Blaise P

Draco's heart skipped a beat as he looked at his grade. _Outstanding._ He smiled happily. He eye roved over the rest of the names, pausing every now and then. He smirked with satisfaction as he noted that Harry had gotten a grade of Exceeds Expectations. He saw Hermione congratulating Harry and Ron gaping at Snape, probably trying to figure out if Snape was in his right mind at all.

"He must be on drugs," Draco heard Ron mutter as he walked out of the room in a daze, with Harry and Hermione close behind. Harry looked back at Draco and mouthed 'Thank you.' Then he blew him a flying kiss, chortled at Draco's reaction, and walked swiftly out of the room.

That Wednesday afternoon, Harry found himself walking towards the Quidditch Pitch. All he knew was that the Slytherin team had reserved the pitch for that time, and he wanted to watch them practice. He slipped on his Invisibility Cloak; he did not feel like confronting Malfoy just then.

_It will have to wait until tonight, _he thought. He and Malfoy had decided on meeting every Wednesday and Friday night for their tutorial sessions. He walked on silently and sat one of the highest benches. Harry looked down at Draco. He was shouting at Crabbe and Goyle.

"We're working on our defensive strategy now, you hear me?! Will you stop trying to beat the Bludgers at us?! We're your teammates for crying out loud! You're supposed to keep them _away_ from us!" He gestured wildly at the rest of the team. The brunette whose name was Tracey Davis had a bruise on her right arm. Blaise had a cut lip. The rest of them were looking very harassed, their hair sticking out in every direction. Crabbe and Goyle mumbled to themselves, nodding dumbly.

"Now, Blaise, don't fly so haphazardly. Fly fast, but with precision. Don't just hurtle through the air. Be sure of where you're going. Watch me first." Blaise nodded.

Draco gestured at the three Chasers to kick off as well. He took Blaise's position as Keeper, hovering in front of the center hoop. The Chasers bore down on him, using the Hawkshead Attacking Formation, with Tracey in the center, holding the Quaffle. She suddenly passed it to the player on her right, who threw it to the player on the left, who shot it towards the left hoop. Draco darted quickly to the left, leaned in towards his broom, pulled up the handle just as he flew in front of the hoop, and caught the Quaffle easily, throwing it back to Tracy.

Harry blinked. Draco's reflexes were amazing. It was an altogether different thing to watch him play as Keeper. He guided his broom through the air with a certain grace, but his movements were precise.

Harry personally thought that Draco had much more style than him. He had seen the way he flew through Dean's moving drawings and Ron's Omnioculars, and he could think of only one word to describe it—reckless. Whenever he was up in the air, he felt no fear. Draco, on the other hand, was a more cautious flyer. It was the reason Harry would win against him. Draco would always pull out of dives earlier. Harry lost himself in the clouds. Draco was aware of the ground beneath him. And somehow, this gave Draco's flying style a sense of dignity.

Draco had let Blaise play now. He flew to the side and told the Chasers to resume play. Of course, Blaise wasn't able to pull it off with the same agility as Draco, but he improved all the same. Meanwhile, Crabbe and Goyle had managed to keep the Bludgers away from their teammates. Draco ended their practice session. Harry checked his watch. It was 7:00. Draco had stayed behind to do some laps. Harry left the field and went to the Great Hall.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9  
  
Dinner that night was lamb chops with mashed potatoes. Ron and Hermione were involved in a heated conversation when Harry joined them at the Gryffindor table.  
  
"Hermione, come on! Just take the puzzle so I can see who it is!" Ron said, brandishing his puzzle in front of her. "I already know who it is anyway!"  
  
"So if you know already, why do I still need to take it?"  
  
"Why do you not want to take it then? That means it's someone else!"  
  
"I know who it is," Harry teased.  
  
"Oh really now?" said Hermione and Ron at the same time. They looked at each other furiously before glaring back at Harry.  
  
"Yes, I do. It's pretty obvious, Hermione. Don't worry though. I won't tell anyone."  
  
Ron shot him a hurt look. "What about me, huh?"  
  
"It's for Hermione to decide when she'll tell you. You will tell him eventually, won't you?" he said, turning to Hermione.  
  
"Oh, well, I suppose I will, won't I? But for the meantime, keep your mouth shut, Harry, or I might just tell everyone your little secret."  
  
"What secret?" Harry said, flustered. "I don't like anyone!"  
  
"Oh yes you do, Harry, and you don't even know it yet."  
  
"How can I like someone without even knowing it?"  
  
"Don't ask me," Hermione said, giving him an infuriating smile.  
  
He shook his head at her and made his way towards the seventh floor. He paused before he opened the door to the Room of Requirement. He took a deep breath. Then he entered.  
  
He gave a gasp of surprise as he stepped inside. He somehow was in a beach of some sort. He could feel the sand beneath his shoes. The waves lapped up, greeting him as they died on the shore. At first he thought that the doorknob must have been a Portkey, and he was stuck here, but then he saw Malfoy lying down on the sand, face turned towards the sky.  
  
"Malfoy! What's this?" Harry called out to him, walking over as he spoke.  
  
"It's what I required, Potter. I just concentrated hard on having a place where we can see the night sky, with all the stars."  
  
"Sounds romantic," Harry said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "What's that got to do with Potions, might I ask?"  
  
"Well, Potter, you might have forgotten that Snape might give a written exam, but I happen to know that Snape will. He will probably test us on why certain ingredients are added to certain potions."  
  
"Well that does it. I'm going to fail."  
  
"No you aren't. Not with me teaching you," Draco replied firmly.  
  
"Well then what's with the change of atmosphere?"  
  
Draco gestured towards the sky. "This will serve as a great blackboard. It will help you remember what I teach you. Now lie down beside me."  
  
Harry reluctantly lay down, his face turned to the sky as well.  
  
"Once upon a time, three mythical creatures engaged in mortal combat in the skies above the world: the dragon, the chimera and the gryffin." Draco raised his wand and pointed it at the sky. A projection of a shining green and silver dragon appeared against the black velvet sky, shooting out white flames. He flicked his wand again, and a chimera appeared with the head of a lion, the body of a wolf and a snake's tail. It roared ferociously, its tail rattling. He flicked his wand a third time and a gryffin appeared, giving a high-pitched cry and focusing its sharp eyes on the other two creatures.  
  
"The dragon breathed fire and flew with incredible speed, making it a fearsome opponent. The chimera could look in all directions at once, making it almost impossible to beat. The gryffin watched the other two for a long time, looking for their weak spots. Finally he engaged in battle with the chimera and the dragon."  
  
He pointed his wand at the gryffin in the sky, who flew downwards while the chimera wasn't looking. The gryffin flew at the chimera from below, beneath the projectile ground that Draco had conjured. The chimera was caught by surprise. It was the one direction it hadn't bothered to look in. The gryffin conquered it.  
  
Then the gryffin began a sort of dance, which infuriated the dragon. The dragon tried to burn it with spurts of fire, but the gryffin dodged them, continuing to dance. It had reached the surface of the ocean. It flew out of the way just as the dragon charged at it. The dragon flew straight into the depths of the ocean, where its fire was permanently extinguished, and it suffered defeat. The three creatures vanished into thin air, leaving only the stars, twinkling innocently.  
  
Draco turned to look at Harry, who was gazing up at the sky in awe.  
  
"Dragon blood is used in potions for healing purposes, but the scales can also be used in making everlasting fires. The gryffin's talon clippings can be used in strengthening solutions and its feathers in potions that one uses to heal someone who has been confounded. Any body part of the chimera can be used in a potion much like the one Mad-Eye Moody used for his magic eye. But since a chimera is believed to be a mere figment of the imagination, precious few have managed to capture it and take a part of its body. We can only guess how Alastor Moody was able to do it."  
  
Harry turned his face toward Draco, staring into his calm grey eyes. They were so close their noses were almost touching. "You know, the gryffin doesn't always try to fight the dragon. He's never intentionally quenched the dragon's fire either. Sometimes he even wishes he could kindle it."  
  
"I know, Potter," Draco said. He held Harry's gaze for a while before standing up, brushing sand off his robes. "Well, I think I'll go for a swim. Join me, won't you?"  
  
"I don't know," Harry said uncertainly. "I think I'll follow. You go ahead."  
  
Draco shrugged. He walked over to the edge of the shore and took off his shoes and socks. He let the shallow waves wash over his feet. It was a pleasantly warm feeling. The water reminded him of the time when Harry had tended his wounds in the train compartment. He walked forward until the water reached up to his navel. He looked down. The water looked completely black, and almost opaque. The ripples he created shone silver under the beam of moonlight that fell upon them. He laid himself on the surface of the water, floating gently, his eyes reflecting the stars above him. His ears were submerged in water. He could hear the disquieting hum that you hear when you're underwater. It was strangely comforting. After a while he swam back to the shore. Harry was still there, watching him as he dried off.  
  
"So anyway, I just taught you all the things I feel will come up in the test but aren't found in our text book. You can study the other facts on your own; they're all in the book anyway." Harry nodded.  
  
Draco sat down beside him. "After my father died, I was so scared that the Dark Lord would come after me next, that he would hunt me down. But my mother said that the Dark Lord would never be able to go near me."  
  
Draco kept silent for a while. Harry let him. He waited for him to speak again.  
  
"My father used a piece of old magic to protect me. He used the same magic your mother used to protect you. When my father died, he made sure that Voldemort would not be able to lay a finger on me. But I know Voldemort will get me in the end." His voice was horribly hollow, like he knew and accepted this as the truth.  
  
"No he won't," Harry said grimly. "Not as long as I'm here."  
  
Draco looked at him. "You're going to save me now, are you?" he said mockingly.  
  
"Yes." Harry's eyes had a stubborn, determined gleam. Draco laughed out loud.  
  
"The day you save me is the day I stop calling you Potter." Then he laughed again, as though the whole idea were absolutely absurd.  
  
Draco left first, the sand clinging to his feet as he carried his shoes in one hand. Harry stayed there for more than an hour after he left, and then he stood up to leave. 


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10  
  
For the next two weeks, Harry and Draco ceased to meet each other, since both had to study for their other subjects as well.  
  
Time seemed to fly, and before Harry knew it, he had woken up to the Friday of their qualifying N.E.W.T. exams. They were to take all their exams in one day, since they would be short but comprehensive. They were to take only the exams of the classes which they wished to take their N.E.W.T. in. Harry had Transfiguration at 9:00, Charms at 10:00, Lunch at 11:00, Defense Against the Dark Arts at 1:00 and Potions at 2:00.  
  
The exams were very similar to the O.W.L. exams they had taken during their fifth year. One obvious difference, however, was that they took them in separate classrooms, since they all had different schedules. He answered his written exam in Transfiguration easily. It was lucky that the definition of a Switching Spell came up again, because he made sure that he had that one memorized. They did a Vanishing Spell for their practical test. Harry failed on the first try—his turtle just flopped on its back lamely—but he was able to vanish it the second time.  
  
Charms was pretty easy for Harry. The written exam was a breeze. During the practical exam, Harry produced a perfect Summoning Charm, having used it to get his Firebolt during the first task in his fourth year. He did fairly well on his Cheering Charms, this time managing not to force his partner into hysterical fits of laughter.  
  
He proceeded to the Great Hall, feeling that he might just get an "Outstanding" O.W.L. He sat down to a lunch of sausages and veal. Ron and Hermione came in after him and sat down on the empty chairs beside him.  
  
Ron was looking for his Charms reviewer in his bag to check if he had missed anything. He started to take things out and dump them on the table. He took out the jigsaw puzzle and looked at it for a moment, and then the pieces started swirl again. He and Harry watched as the pieces rearranged themselves. They settled and Harry gasped as the picture turned out to be Hermione. Ron looked like he might faint.  
  
"Oh please Harry, don't tell her, please, I wouldn't be able to stand it," Ron begged.  
  
"Oh I think you should tell her this," Harry said, laughing at the horrified look on Ron's face. _Ah the joys of matchmaking,_ he thought.  
  
"Tell me what?" Hermione asked, peering over Harry's shoulder. She saw the telltale puzzle in Ron's hand. A look of surprise flitted across her face.  
  
"Now take the puzzle, Hermione," Harry said slowly, enjoying being the one in control. Hermione glared at him, and then took the puzzle from Ron's limp hands. The puzzle pieces started to whirl then slowed down and finally settled on a Ron with a bemused expression on his face, which mirrored the real Ron's expression at the moment.  
  
"Oh," Ron said. "So that's who it is." Harry laughed.  
  
"That's all you can say?" Harry said.  
  
"Well, no it's not," Ron said, glancing at Hermione. "Well, um, Hermione, it's Hogsmeade weekend tomorrow, and I, uh, was wondering if you could, um, go with me, so we could, er, go together?" Ron stammered.  
  
Hermione laughed. "Of course silly! That is, if it's okay with you, Harry."  
  
"No problem," said Harry, grinning. "I'll leave you two lovebirds alone now, shall I?" he left the Great Hall and went to his next exam room, the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom.  
  
He answered his test with much ease, and did the practical exam with flying colors. He was feeling quite ecstatic by the time he was done. But his feelings of happiness had begun to ebb away with each step that he took towards the Potions classroom.  
  
He entered the room and sat down on the seat marked with his name. The seat to his left was marked with 'Malfoy, Draco'. Just then Draco walked in the room. He sat on his seat. Harry resisted the urge to talk to him. Then, he felt a piece of crumpled parchment hit his arm. He picked it up and smoothed it out eagerly. It read:  
  
_Good luck. Tonight. Same time, same place._  
  
Snape entered the room, and silence fell. He distributed the written exams and said, "You have half an hour. You may begin."  
  
Harry read the first question. _What is the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?_ Harry remembered Snape's silky voice saying, "Monkshood and wolfsbane are the same plant and also go by the name of aconite." Feeling a little more confident, he picked up his quill, dipped its tip in ink, and began to write.  
  
Thirty minutes later, Harry reviewed his exam nervously. He wasn't so sure about his explanation of how Veritaserum worked, but he was pretty sure about the rest of his answers. He didn't find the test easy, but he didn't find it hard either.  
  
"Time's up. Put down your quills. Accio!" All test papers flew towards Snape and landed on his desk in a messy pile. He waved his wand, and the papers arranged themselves into a neat pile. "Now, for your practical exam, you shall be making the Draught of Peace. If you remember, this was the first potion I assigned to you during our first class in your fifth year." He flicked his wand at the blackboard, and the ingredients and method appeared. "Since this potion takes time to prepare, you will be given an hour and a half. This is why my test is the last on your schedules. Begin now."  
  
Harry remembered this potion; his heart sank as he thought about the last time he tried his hand at it. Someone on his left squeezed his wrist reassuringly.  
  
"You'll do fine, Potter." Draco muttered. "Stop wasting time and get a move on."  
  
Harry nodded nervously; his throat too constricted for words, and started to make his potion.  
  
After one hour and twenty minutes, Snape said, "A light silver vapor should now be rising from your potion."  
  
Harry vaguely remembered Snape saying those exact same words a little more than a year ago. However, he was relieved to see that unlike the last time he said those words, his potion did have a silver mist floating above his potion. He felt flushed with his success.  
  
"Ladle a sample of your potion into the prepared flagons, which have already been labeled with your names. I have already checked your written exams. Present your flagons to me as I call your name. I will assess your potions now, and will present you with your grade on a piece of parchment. Please note that I will only accept those who will receive a grade of 'Outstanding' or 'Exceeds Expectations', since I am afraid that precious few will actually be able to get a grade of 'Outstanding' on this test."  
  
He called them alphabetically; Harry sat down on the edge of his chair, clutching his flagon anxiously. The ones who had been called left the room right after. Harry could see Ron and Hermione waiting outside the room checking every now and then to see if Harry had been called yet.  
  
"Malfoy, Draco," Snape said. Malfoy walked quickly towards the front, holding his flagon. He thrust it into Snape's hands, shoving his own hands into his pockets and staring at his shoes. Snape scribbled something on a small slip of parchment, folded it in half, and handed it to Draco. Draco took it, and without even looking at it, strode out of the room.  
  
"Potter, Harry." Snape's eyes bore into Harry's as he made his way to the front of the room. The walk seemed to take forever. Finally, Harry handed the flagon to Snape. Snape peered at it closely, swishing it around and turning the flagon every which way. Finally, he took a slip of parchment and wrote down Harry's grade, then handed the slip to him. Harry clutched it in his hand, his knuckles white, and made his way to the door. Hermione and Ron were looking at him expectantly.  
  
"Well?" Hermione prodded. Harry looked at her, eyes shining in excitement, and then at Ron, who was staring at Harry almost rudely. He shoved the slip of parchment into her hands, looking at her with dread.  
  
Hermione looked at the parchment. Her expression was unreadable. She looked up at Harry, and then smiled widely. "You made it, Harry!" She gave a squeal of delight. Ron gaped at him. Harry stared at Hermione disbelievingly. He pinched his left arm hard. It hurt.  
  
He shook his head, grabbing the slip from Hermione. It read:  
  
_ Well done, Potter.  
You're not such a dunderhead after all.  
  
Exceeds Expectations  
  
Signed: Severus Snape  
_  
For a long time, Harry just stood there, rooted to the spot. Then he dashed back inside the classroom, bumped right into Snape as he was about to leave, and hugged his professor, greasy hair and all. Then he took one look at Snape's mutinous-looking face, and ran for his life.  
  
Draco felt like he was walking on air. He looked at the slip of parchment for the 47th time, feeling a surge of pride.  
  
_You're father would have been proud.  
  
Outstanding  
  
Signed: Severus Snape  
_  
He looked up. He had subconsciously walked up to the 7th floor, and he was now staring at the portrait of Barnabas the Barmy. He turned around, and saw the familiar wooden door that he knew to lead to the white sands beach that he had conjured in his head.  
  
_That's funny,_ he thought. _Potter never forgets to make this a blank stretch of wall again._ It was a precaution they had to take, so that people would remain oblivious to the existence of the room.  
  
He stepped inside. The sun had begun to set; the waves were tinged with pink light, and an orange sphere hid behind wisps of purple and blue. The shadow of a moon could be made out in the distance, brushed on like watercolor. He removed his shoes eagerly, feeling the sand shift beneath his feet and press between his toes. He walked forward, taking a deep breath, savoring the smell of the sea.  
  
His eyes caught sight of a flash of yellow, slithering across the sand. He gasped in surprise as it slithered past him and sunk its fangs into his ankle. He fell quietly.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11  
  
Harry kept on running, the air whipping his face. He had to tell Draco the good news. Instinct told him he should go straight to the Room of Requirement. He skidded to a halt outside the door. He flung it open, just as Draco gave a gasp of surprise and fell towards the sand. Harry's heart stopped in his throat.  
  
"Draco!" he yelled, running towards him, as the yellow snake slithered away, undetected. Harry knelt beside him, his heart drumming painfully against his ribcage. Draco looked at him, and gave him a small smile.  
  
It was the most beautiful thing Harry had ever seen.  
  
"You called me Draco," he said softly, gazing into Harry's eyes.  
  
Harry stroked Draco's cheek with the back of his hand. He looked at Draco's body, sprawled gently over the sand. His robes were raised slightly, exposing his lower leg. Harry saw Draco's ankle, where two red points clashed violently with the pale creamy skin.  
  
It was the most terrible thing Harry had ever seen.  
  
_Wait a minute,_ he thought suddenly. _This isn't right. The Room of Requirement is only supposed to provide for the needs of those who summoned it. Surely Draco didn't need to be poisoned?_  
  
And then one word appeared in his mind, more horrifying than ever. _Voldemort._  
  
His world crashed around him. For the first time in his life, as he held Draco in his arms, as he watched the life slowly dwindling out of his body, he felt utterly helpless.  
  
_Help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it.  
_  
A memory had stirred in his head, bringing with it a tiny flicker of hope.  
  
_We need help,_ he thought desperately. _Please, we need to get help.  
_  
Suddenly, a fireplace appeared before him. Harry whipped out his wand.  
  
"Incendio." He lifted Draco and went in front of the fire. He took a pinch of the Floo powder from the small box that had appeared on top of the mantelpiece and threw it into the flames. He thought quickly before making up his mind on where to go. He stepped into the fire and said, "Gryffindor common room."  
  
He fell out of the fire, clutching Draco round the middle. As he had hoped, Hermione was the only one in the room. She leapt up at once and ran over to Harry's side.  
  
"What happened?"  
  
"Snake bite." Harry showed her where the yellow snake had punctured Draco's ankle. She grabbed Draco's wrist, feeling for a pulse.  
  
"He's still alive," she said her voice trembling. "Wait here." She dashed out of the portrait hole.  
  
The next thirty seconds felt like a lifetime to Harry. He kept his thumb on Draco's wrist, feeling for the pulse that grew steadily fainter. He ran his fingers through Draco's hair, wondering if he'd ever hear him speak again. Draco's voice kept playing in Harry's mind. _You called me Draco._  
  
"Draco," he whispered desperately, as though the sound of his voice might keep him alive longer. Again and again he said the other boy's name, hoping against hope that it was all just a bad dream.  
  
Finally, Hermione came back, clutching a bottle filled with a milky substance. Harry recognized it as the sap they had collected a month ago, from the Venomous Tentacula.   
  
_ Of course,_ he thought. _An antidote for snake venom!_ She ran over to Draco, pulling out the rubber stopper. She parted his lips gently with her fingers, and poured some of the liquid into his mouth. At first it seemed like he might not have the strength to swallow it, but then his eyes fluttered, half open, and he closed his mouth, gulping down the liquid with obvious difficulty. He was in great pain. Harry squeezed Draco's hand, staring into Draco's eyes. Draco looked back at him, and then closed his eyes once more, parting his lips a little so Hermione could continue giving him the liquid.  
  
Finally, the bottle was empty. They watched Draco, still half conscious, waiting, hoping, praying that it would work.  
  
Draco opened his eyes. "Harry," he said softly.  
  
The other boy blinked back tears. "You called me Harry."  
  
Draco smiled. "So I did. The day you saved me is the day I stopped calling you Potter." Draco sat up, facing Harry. Hermione was nowhere to be found.  
  
"You know, when you were unconscious, I said your name over and over. I regretted every time I called you Malfoy. For a while there, I thought that you'd never hear me call you Draco again." Draco was so close that Harry was whispering.  
  
"I could hear you," Draco said. "I knew you'd save me. You promised."

A long silence followed this. Harry tore his gaze away from Draco's.  
  
"So, does this make us friends? Or are we still enemies?" Harry said softly.  
  
"Well, we're not friends, that's for sure," Draco said steadily. Draco could see hurt flash in Harry's green eyes, as though his words had wounded him.  
  
Draco smiled. He could see every teardrop that clung to Harry's eyelash, and the liquid that pooled once more around his eyes. A drop slid down his left cheek. Draco brushed his finger ever so gently against Harry's skin, catching the tear and wiping it off.  
  
"We're not friends. We're much more than friends."  
  
The stars twinkled innocently above them, as, once upon a time, the shadow of a gryffin kindled a dragon's fire.


End file.
